Alcohol-containing powder

ABSTRACT

FLOWABLE POWDERS HAVING UP TO 60% ETHYL ALCOHOL CONTENT ARE PREPARED BY THE SORPTION OF THE ALCOHOL WITH BULKED, LOW DEXTROSE EQUIVALENT DEXTRINS. THE RESULTING PRODUCTS ARE STABLE WHEN HERMETICALLY PACKAGED AND ARE PARTICULARLY QUALIFIED AS ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE FORMING COMPOSITIONS AND FLAVORING MATERIALS.

United States Patent 50 ALCOHOL-CONTAINING POWDER William A. Mitchell,Lincoln Park, N.J., and William C.

Seidel, Monsey, N.Y., assignors to General Foods Corporation, WhitePlains, N.

No Drawing. Filed Mar. 31, 1972, Ser. No. 240,272

Int. Cl. C12g 3/00 US. Cl. 426-192 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREFlowable powders having up to 60% ethyl alcohol content are prepared bythe sorption of the alcohol with bulked, low dextrose equivalentdextrins. The resulting products are stable when hermetically packagedand are particularly qualified as alcoholic beverage formingcompositions and flavoring materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the invention The presentinvention generally relates to alcohol-containing solids and, inparticular, is directed to powders containing substantial amounts ofalcohol. More specifically, the invention pertains to edible,ethanol-containing carbohydrate powders.

2. Description of the prior art Prior eiforts to make edible,alcohol-containing powdered materials have been limited to the use ofcarbohydrate materials in very dry condition in order to have asignificant amount of alcohol, specifically ethanol, sorbed by thedehydrated solids. For the most part, the prior art has employedcarbohyrates which are either undesirably sweet or those which dissolvewith considerable difliculty in cold water to produce cloudy appearingbeverages. Also, because of the relatively low levels of alcoholfixation, in order to obtain effective levels of alcohol in thebeverages prepared by reconstituting the prior art powders, it has beennecessary to include excessive amounts of cabohydrate fixative. Thepresence of excess carbohydrate fixative produces beverages having toohigh viscosity, poor appearance and texture.

Sato, (Great Britain 1,138,124) discloses the use of anhydrous lactoseas a medium for adsorping and/r absorbing ethanol. Sato identifieslactose anhydride as the material for combination with the ethyl alcoholto provide a-stable alcohol-containing powder and implies that anhydrousalcohol must be employed in the preparation of the product since thepresence of water would convert the lactose to the unacceptable hydratedcrystalline form.

Bode, (US. 3,436,224) describes the preparation'of an alcoholic drybeverage powder by dehydrating a vaporsorbable particulated, starchbased polysaccharide material to a moisture content of less than 0.75%and exposing the dehydrated material to anhydrous ethanol.

In both instances, it is to be noted, the prior art processes rely uponthe substantially complete removal of physically or chemically combinedwater from the solid prior to and during the sorption of ethanol by thedehydrated solid substances. In contrast to the prior art, it has nowbeen discovered that certain cabohydrate materials, when suitablymodified with respect to physical form, will, in the presence ofsignificant amounts of Water, sorb large quantities of alcohol to formstable, flowable carbohydrate powders containing up to 60% by weightethanol. Significantly, certain of these alcohol-containing powders willreadily dissolve in cold water to form low-viscosity, clear, colorless,alcoholic solutions.

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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a flowable, high alcohol-containing powder whichcan be produced in the presence of substantial quantities of moistureand which, when packaged in a sealed container, is stable.

It is another object of the invention to provide a highethanol-containing cabohydrate powder which readily dissolves in coldwater to form a clear, low-viscosity, colorless liquid.

It is another object of the present invention to provide 7 a highethanol-containing powder which is flowable and has a minimum tendencyto lump and otherwise form compacted aggregates.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a highethanol-containing powder which can be used as a base for alcoholicbeverages.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a powder, which inaddition to containing up to 60% ethyl alcohol is also amenable to thesorption of flavoring agents, particularly those usually employed inalcoholic beverages.

It is a feature of the invention that novel alcohol-containing powdersare produced by utilizing the heretofore unrealized capabilities ofcertain modified carbohydrates to sorb large quantities of ethanol whencontacted and blended with the alcohol.

Briefly stated, the objects of the invention are accomplished bybulking, i.e., increasing the bulk volume and effective surface area ofspecific low D.E. (dextrose equivalent) dextrins and blending the bulkeddextrins with liquid ethyl alcohol in ratios such that there issufficient dextrin present to absorb/ adsorb the available ethanol andproduce a dry-to-the-touch flowable powder incorporated with up to about60% ethanol. When hermetically packaged, even though the alcoholcontaining powders have, in addition to 60% alcohol by weight, as muchas 4.6% water, they remain chemically stable and in flowable physicalcondition. The products of the invention can have excellent cold watersolubilities and reconstitute to provide nonsweet, low viscosity, clearcolorless and sparkling liquid solutions.

The essence of the invention resides in the discovery that dextrinshaving low dextrose equivalent values of from about 5 DE. to about 15DE. and which have been expanded to a low bulk density of from about0.05 g./ cc. to about 0.30 g./cc. have the capability for adsorbing/absorbing large amounts of alcohol. Among these dextrins are somespecial dextrins which are excellent film-forming materials; which canbe bulked (as above) to produce low bulked density materials whosebulked physical conditions are not easily altered upon compression; andwhich are distinguished from the normal dextrins by having thecapabilities of dissolving readily in cold water to form clear,sparkling, low viscosity and nonsweet solutions with no ofi flavors.Such special dextrins have a DP. (degree of polymerization) of from 1 toabout 20 glucose units with an average DR of about 10 (molecular weightabout 1600). Furthermore, in comparison with the normal dextrins, thespecial dextrins, which can be produced by enzymatic hydrolysis (e. g.alpha amylase from B. subtilis) contain about 10% less polymers in theDI. range above 10 than the normal dextrins having the same DE. and theyhave a preponderance of trimer, hexarner and heptamer content equivalentto more than 50% of the oligomers (DR 10 and below). Additionally, thespecial dextrins have only a trace to about 1% glucose and a verylimited amount of maltose.

In summary, the low sweetness level of these special dextrins is derivedfrom the limited amount of glucose and maltose present, the lowviscosity and good solubility and clarity is due to the reduced level ofthe higher D.P.

materials, and the lack of off-flavors results from the use of enzymesfor their preparation in contrast to the conventional acid and/or heatdextrinization. These features of the special dextrins make themparticularly suitable for the purposes of the invention.

It is not known exactly why the dextrins of the invention are capable offixing surprisingly large amounts of alcohol but it has been establishedthat these dextrins are amorphous substances having excellent(film-forming properties and have the inherent capability of beingconverted to a high bulked physical form wherein their effective surfacearea to unit weight ratio is exceedingly large.

The salient factors of the present invention will become apparent fromthe description of the preferred embodiments as set forth below.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The special dextrin substancespreferred for the purposes of the present invention are commerciallyavailable. One of the companies manufacturing such dextrins is CPCInternational, Inc. (formerly Corn Products Company), Englewood Cliffs,New Jersey. These dextrins are marketed under the tradename MOR-REX andare further iden- Itified as 5 DE. MORREX and DE. MGR-REX. Anothercommercial concern (Grain Processing Corp, Muscatine, Iowa) produces asimilar series of dextrins under the trade name Maltrrin.

The dextrins, as commercially available, have a bulk density ofapproximately 0.4-0.6 g./cc. and, although they have some aflinity forethyl alcohol in this physical form, a significant increase in theircapabilities for adsorping/ absorbing ethyl alcohol has been found toresult when they are expanded such that their bulk densities aredecreased to from about 0.05 g./cc. to about 0.30 g./cc. The procedurefor bulking (expanding) the dextrins to the extent of maximizing theireffective surface areas to unit weight ratios is an important operationin the practice of the process according to the invention.

Although various bulking techniques including spray drying can beemployed, the preferred method for physically expanding the dextrins toa high bulk volume for enhancing their capabilities to sorb ethylalcohol comprises forming a very thin continuous film of a watersolution of the dextrin followed by drum the film. The bulking methodcan best be accomplished by drying the dextrin film from about a 50%aqueous solution of dextrin on an atmospheric drum dryer. The drum dryerroll surfaces are heated from within the drum chambers with steam atabout 60 p.s.i.g. and the rolls are rotated at a circumferential speedof about -20 ft. per minute. These preferred conditions, of course, canbe modifiedthe important criteria being that the dextrins should beuniformly blended with an amount of water sufficient to effect theformation of a continuous film during the drying step. The thin film ofdextrin is dried to a moisture content of from about 2% to about 6% and,when doctored from the rolls forms fine particles of high bulk volume.Drum drying the dextrin material in this manner produces expanded, andeasily not compressed, particles of low density, which are amorphous butcrystalline-appearing materials, and which are non-hygroscopic anddissolve easily in water. After drying, the products can be comminutedand screened, if desired, to remove particles that are either too largeor too fine. The most preferred particle size fraction for practicingthe invention is that which passes through a mesh screen and is held ona 60 mesh screen (US. Standard Sieve) and has a bulk density of fromabout 0.10 to about 0.15 gram per cubic centimeter.

While it is recognized that most carbohydrate materials have thecapability of sorbing relatively small amounts of ethanol, what hasapparently escaped the prior art and that which forms the salient pointof the present invention, isthe "discovery that the dextrins describedhereinabove are unique in their capabilities to sorb large quantities ofethanol to form powders which are particularly suited for formingalcoholic beverages because of their rapid and complete solubility incold water to form waterwhite solutions with low viscosities.Specifically, the special dextrins are of a sufficient low averagemolecular weight to be readily soluble in cold water; they haveexcellent film-forming properties which permits them to be bulked and,are further characterized by their lack of olT-flavor and sweetness.

The conventional dextrins having a D.E. below that of about 15 can alsobe bulked to hold large amounts of alcohol, however, they tend to bepartially insoluble in water to'form cloudy solution, and havedetectable offfiavors and sweetness.

The special dextrins are prepared, for example, by special and properalpha-amylase degradation such that maltose and dextrose production arelimited. Under these conditions, the DE. is allowed to reach 5 to 10 or15 and the dextrins contain little glucose and an irregular distributionof polymeric members with a preponderance (greater than 50%) of trimer,hexamer and heptarner polymers of glucose in the oligosaccharide range.

The bulked 5, l0, and 15 DE. special dextrins are products which exhibitrapid and complete solubility in cold water to form clear, colorlesssolutions. At a concentration of 40% by weight in aqueous solution, the10 DE. MOR-R EX dextrin has a viscosity of about 70 centipoise at 80 F.

The special dextrins have low moisture absorption relative to the normaldextrins above 15 D.E. The 10 DE. MOR-REX dextrin at 70% relativehumidity and 77 F. absorbs up to about 13% moisture. While each of thebulked dextrins of the invention has excellent atfinity for ethylalcohol, the 5 DE. MOR-REX dextrin has the capability of sorbing more ofthe alcohol, especially when some water is present and, for this reason,is the preferred carbohydrate material for the purposes of theinvention.

In contrast to the prior art it is not essential to the success of theinvention that anhydrous alcohol be employed for sorption by thedextrin. Surprisingly, it has been found that aqueous alcohol solutionscan be sorbed to form alcohol/water-containing stable, flowable powders.While alcohol with a minimum of associated water is preferred,(primarily from the viewpoint of the desirability of having a highconcentration of alcohol in the powder), ethyl alcohol having as much as20% dissolved Water can be sorbed by the bulked 5 DE. dextrin (0.16 g./cc. and 4.1% moisture) to form a stable, flolwable powder containing 32%ethyl alcohol, 10.5% water and 57.5% dextrin solids. If the bulked 5 DE.dextrin has a 1-2% moisture content, more water can be included in thealcohol solution to be sorbed. For example, a 5 DE. dextrin at thisinitial low moisture content will sorb 40% by weight of an alcoholsolution containing 25% Water and produce a product containing 30%alcohol, 13% water and 57% dextrin solids. This is about the maximumamount of water that can be held by this dextrin. Alternatively, thebulked 5 DE. MOR-REX dextrin, when contacted with by weight alcoholaqueous solution will sorb sufficient solution to form a flowable powdercontaining 60% alcohol, 35.4% dextrin and 4.6% water.

The 5 DE. to 15 DE. dextrins having the usual, regular distribution ofoligomers, such as Frodex 15 manufactured by American Maize Corp., NewYork, N.Y., can be also easily bulked to a lower bulked density. Abulked dextrin of this type will easily hold as much as 50% 5 siredattribute, such as a Tom Collins beverage.

Each of the above dextrins can be combined with ethanol to form theproducts of the invention by sorption of the alcohol by the dextrin inthe course of a blending procedure. The addition of appropriatequantities of the alcohol to the dextrin, or vice versa, in a vesselfollowed by gentle, but thorough mixing, affords adequate inducement foradsorption/ absorption to take place resulting in a flowable powder.

Once the alcohol-containing powdered product has been prepared it isstable for extended time periods provided it is hermetically packaged.Such packaging is necessary for stability because the product (as is thecase with the prior art product) develops an ethanol vapor pressuregreater than atmospheric pressure at room temperature. However, in avapor-tight package, the product retains its alcoholic content, remainsdry-to-the-touch, and retains its original flowable conditioncharacterized by being pourable or spoonable from the container withlittle or no tendency to clump or otherwise aggregate. When produced foralcohol beverage purposes, each of the products can be readily tailoredto contain either water soluble or ethyl alcohol soluble flavoringingredients which are usually employed in mixed alcohol beverages.Alternatively, the products of the invention may be added to Water withcommercial cocktail mixes to form alcohol beverages of excellentquality.

In addition, the alcohol-containing powders disclosed herein can bemarketed as ingredients in dry pudding and topping mixes. The alcoholcontent of the products is sufficiently high to ignite and supportcombustion and the products may be used as flaming agents forappropriate desserts. Also, the products of the invention find utilityas powdered carriers for alcohol soluble flavors which would normally bedegraded or lost upon drying.

The following examples illustrate the various facets of the invention.It should be understood, however, that these examples are meant to beillustrative and the invention is not to be limited thereto. In theexamples which follow, g. stands for grams, cc. stands for cubiccentimeters, DE. for dextrose equivalents, and the percentages providedare percentages by weight.

EXAMPLE I To a 500 g. quantity of 5 DE. MOR-REX dextrin (0.36 g./cc.;5.4% H was added 500 g. of water to form a clear colorless solution. Thesolution was uniformly applied to the surfaces of heated drum dryerrolls. The solution formed a thin continuous film on the atmosphericdrum dryer roll surfaces which were heated from within the roll chambersby steam at 60 p.s.i.g. The 18 inchdiameter rolls were rotated at 3 rpm.and the dried solution of dextrin was then doctored from the rolls inthe form of small particles having an average bulk density of 0.16g./cc. and a moisture content of 5.5%.

EXAMPLE II A 150 g. amount of the bulked 5 DE. MOR-REX dextrin ofExample I was blended with 250 g. of 90% by weight water) ethanol in aHobart mixer at speed No. 2 with a wire whisk for 2 minutes. Adry-tothe-touch free flowing powder was obtained that contained 56.2%ethanol and 8.3% moisture. The bulked ethanol containing flowable powderwas packaged in air-tight foil envelopes and after 6 months storage hadretained its flowability characteristics and its original alcoholcontent.

EXAMPLE III A teaspoonful (3 g.) of the product of Example II, whenadded to 10 ml. of water produced a clear, sparkling low-viscosityalcoholic solution with a nonsweet strong alcohol taste.

6 EXAMPLE IV A 28 g. quantity of the product of Example II was blendedwith one package (17.7 g.) of Holland House daiquiri mix to 3-ozs. ofwater and a small quantity of crushed ice and shaken vigorously. Theresultant mixture produced a daiquiri beverage of excellent quality.

EXAMPLE V The procedure described in Example I was repeated with a 10DE. MOR-REX dextrin, to bulk the dextrin to an average density of 0.15g./cc. and a moisture content of 1.5%.

EXAMPLE VI ceeding 6 months. I

EXAMPLE V11 T0 2.8 g. of freeze-dried coffee was added 8.5 g. of theexpanded ethanol containing powder of Example II to produce a flowablepowdered mixture. A 175 ml. of hot water was added to a heaping teaspoonof the mixed powders to produce a unique coffee beverage. The beveragehad excellent flavor and the alcohol content of the beverage appeared toenhance the coffee flavor notes.

EXAMPLE VIII To 40 g. of the bulked dextrin of Example H were added 60g. of alcohol containing 5 cc. of Firmenich liquid wine flavor (P.F.W.570039). A uniform blend of a free flowing powder was obtained. Thispowder was dissolved in 500 ml. cold water and then 500 ml. of cold clubsoda was added. A pleasant carbonated wine beverage was produced.

EXAMPLE IX A liberal quantity of the alcohol-containing powder preparedas in Example II was sprinkled over a fruit cocktail serving. Thepresence of the alcohol enhanced the fresh fruit flavors of the fruitcocktail.

EXAMPLE X A liberal quantity of the alcohol-containing dextrin preparedin Example II was sprinkled over a broiled steak and ignited. Thematerial burned with a controlled blue flame and was then extinguishedbefore excessive charring could take place.

By the foregoing, the present invention has been described in suchdetail as to enable others skilled-in-theart to make and use the same,and, by applying current knowledge, adopt the same for use under varyingconditions of service, without departing from the essential features ofnovelty thereof, which are intended to be defined and secured by theappended claims.

EXAMPLE XI The procedure described in Example I was repeated with a 15DE. conventional dextrin (FRODEX 15 DE), to bulk the dextrin to anaverage density of 0.19 g./cc. and moisture content of 2.1%.

EXAMPLE XII A 200 g. amount of the bulked dextrin of Example X-I wasblended with 200 g. of absolute ethyl alcohol in a Hobart mixer at aspeed of No. 2 with a wire whisk for 2 minutes. A dry-to-the-touch freeflowing powder was obtained that contained 50% alcohol, 48.9% dextrinand 1.1% moisture. The bulked ethanol-containing flowable powder waspacked as in Example 11 and retained its flowable characteristics andits original alcohol content when stored for a period exceeding 6months.

EXAMPLE XIII A 3 g; portion of the product of Example XII was blendedwith one package (14.17 g.) of Holland House bloody mary mix to producea flowable powder. A beverage was prepared by adding the mixture to 5oz. of chilled water and stirring. The resultant cloudy alcohol beveragewas judged to be of excellent quality.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letter Patent is:

1. A method of preparing a flowable, dry-to-the-touch,alcohol-containing powder which consists of:

i (a) dissolving in water a dextrin having a dextrose equivalent of fromabout 5 to about 15,

- (b) expanding the dextrin by forming a film of the solution of (a) anddrum drying said film,

(c) subdividing the dried film of dextrin to yield particulates ofexpanded dextrin having a' size corresponding to a 2060 mesh screenopening (U. S. S. Sieve), a moisture content ranging from about 2% toabout 6% and a bulk density ranging from about 0.05 to about 0.30gram/cubic centimeter, and

(d) contacting the expanded dextrin of (c) with an aqueous solution ofethanol so as to cause the dextrin to sorb from about to about ethanolby weight of the resulting flowable ethanol-containing UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,617,302 11/1971 Collins 9957X 3,615,672 10/1971 Pischke 99783,436,224 4/1969 Bode 9931 3,660,115 5/1972 Revie 9978X DAVID M. NAFF,Primary Examiner I US. Cl. X.R. 426365, 465

